It was just a cabin.

January 2016: we bought a little cabin in the mountains to escape summer’s heat.

If home remodeling projects could be called children, our second project of this past year definitely fits the mold of the middle child – plain, drab, neglected.

February 2016: furnishings were gathered.

Taking pictures helped us remember what we had bought (and which store we had left it in!).

March 2016 – construction wraps up.

A new roof, new windows, remodeled floor plan, insulation, and running water.

Move-in day was on the last day of March. . .

April 2016: spring had sprung.

May 2016: lazy, happy days.

Dudley and Mr. Boggs

June 2016: back on the market.

How could we leave these beautiful mountains at the end of the summer? Instead, we hatched a plan to sell both homes (the cabin and our home in Greensboro, N.C.), and move back to the mountains permanently. Our trusted agent’s photographer captured our renovation efforts on camera.

A showing request comes in – at all times of the day or night. Spiff things up, sweep the porch, check for cob webs, dust the furniture, put away the dog bowls, hide the dirty laundry, turn on all the lights, drive the dogs away in the Jeep. . . wait, wait, wait (sometimes an hour, sometimes 10 minutes). Two days, or two hours later: repeat.

January 2017: SOLD!

This little cabin proved to be a determined little house. It was brave, willing to think outside the box and open to compromise. It may have felt neglected for a long time, but when the time came for it to shine, it embraced the opportunity. A classic middle child indeed.